How Shall Christians Relate to the President?
by Aaron Shafovaloff
Since Biden was inaugurated as President we should:
1) Pray for
2) Submit to
3) Call to repentance
Blog
The Designations of our Lord in John and their Significance
by B. B. Warfield
Same Christology in Synoptics and John
Unrest and Civil Religion
If a professing Christian believed they may be unable to pay for their rent this month would it be appropriate for them to ask God to give them a sign as to whether or not they should rob a bank?
If a man saw a beautiful woman who was not his wife, would it be appropriate for him to pray to God to ask him whether or not he should commit adultery with her?
Likewise, a Christian has no business asking God whether he should incite in a riot, vandalize public property, or participate in an insurrection.
That such actions are not an option for the Christian should be painfully obvious. We are never to base on actions on our feelings of injustice, or upon some supposed extra biblical communication from God, but upon Scripture. Christianity is based on revealed truth, and it should not be up for question as to whether we should engage in said sinful activities. God does not tell his followers to do things that He has already expressly told them not to. Do you mean to be pagans under a Christian name, or Christians indeed? You have but the name only if you trust in your feelings or in supposed personal revelations, if they contradict the word of God.
Christ’s disciples sit loose from the world, because, however providence may fall out, the Kingdom of God is never a risk. All things are to be done orderly and legally in respect and honor to the civil magistrate, even if you think what he/she does may be unjust. We are to seek the common good, be patient and listen to viewpoints we sharply disagree with and then deliberate or discuss differences reasonably. Only if the government orders you to stop preaching the gospel, or do something that expressly violates God’s law, are we to peacefully resist.
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Westminster Confression 20.4:
True Believers: Upright in Principle
BY WILHELMUS A BRAKEL
True believers are principally upright, for:
(1) Have spiritual light and life, are partakers of the divine nature, and Jesus has been formed within them.
(2) They perceive their wrongdoings, are grieved over them, confess them, by faith seek forgiveness in the blood of Christ, and do battle against them.
(3) They are concerned about this, since they mistrust their hearts and become conscious of their corrupt impulses.They bring their heart before the Lord and pray, ―Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Ps 139:23-24).
(4) This is true in a general and universal sense of the word as far as matters, time, and place are concerned; they make no exception whatsoever. Regardless of whether they fall more into the one sin than the other, it is nevertheless contrary to their intent and the wishes of their heart; it grieves them. Yes, in secret they are much more upright than they are in the presence of men, and their heart is even more upright in principle than it is in its manifestation. They can and dare say to the Lord: ―With my whole heart have I sought Thee: O let me not wander from Thy commandments. Therefore I esteem all Thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way. (Ps
119:10, 128).
All these matters are true evidences of uprightness. With this, believers may support and comfort themselves when they, due to detecting so much deficiency within themselves, are concerned as to whether or not they are upright. Nevertheless, they must humble themselves over their eficiencies and transgressions.
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Comfort in Remembering God's Judgments of Old in the Midst of Trial
I have remembered thy judgments of old, O Lord; and have comforted myself.— Psalm 119:52
That the remembrance of the most illustrious examples of his justice, power, and goodness, should comfort us, though we do not perfectly feel the effects of his righteous government.
An Encouragement to be Valiant in a Time of Persecution and Martyrdom
by Wilhelmus à Brakel
My beloved brothers, from whom the luster of glory emanates, permit me to encourage you to be valiant and steadfast. If you are not in need of such encouragement, being sustained by the Spirit of liberty Himself, having striven valiantly until now, it is nevertheless my duty and inclination to share with you what the Lord has granted me. Permit me therefore to show my love to you, so that I may hear in the Day of Judgment, ― "I was in prison, and ye came unto Me." (Matt 25:36)
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
by Hugh Binning
1 John 1:9—If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, &c.
Luther on Antinomianism
“My friends, the Antinomians preach exceedingly well —and I cannot but believe that they do so with great earnestness— concerning the mercy of Christ, forgiveness of sin, and other contents of the article of redemption.
But they flee from this inference as from the devil, that they must tell the people about the Third Article, of sanctification, that is, of the new life in Christ.
For they hold that we must not terrify people and make them sorrowful, but must always preach to them the comfort of grace in Christ and the forgiveness of sin. They tell us to avoid, for God’s sake, such statements as these:
‘Listen, you want to be a Christian while you are an adulterer, a fornicator, a swill-belly, full of pride, avarice, usurious practices, envy, revenge, malice, etc., and mean to continue in these sins?’ On the contrary, they tell us that this is the proper way to speak: ‘Listen, you are an adulterer, fornicator, miser, or addicted to some other sin. Now, if you will only believe, you are saved and need not dread the Law, for Christ has fulfilled all.’
Tell me, pray-thee, does not this amount to conceding the premise and denying the conclusion? Verily, it amounts to this, that Christ is taken away and made worthless in the same breath with which He is most highly extolled. It means to say yes and no in the same matter. For a Christ who died for sinners who, after receiving forgiveness, will not quit their sin nor lead a new life, is worthless and does not exist.
According to the logic of Nestorius and Eutyches these people, in masterful fashion, preach a Christ who is, and is not, the Redeemer. They are excellent preachers of the Easter truth, but miserable preachers of the truth of Pentecost. For there is nothing in their preaching concerning sanctification of the Holy Ghost and about being quickened into a new life.
Rethinking Regeneration (5-Part MP3 Series)
Dr. John Snyder is the pastor of Christ Church New Albany and author of the Behold Your God study series from Media Gratiae. In this weekly podcast, he discusses the realities of God and how we are to worship, learn, and live in light of who God is.
Puritans and Revival: Rethinking Regeneration (MP3)
How God uses the proper knowledge of Himself in a sinner, regeneration.
Puritans and Revival: Pattern of Regeneration (MP3)
Both the Puritans and leaders of the Great Awakening spent a great deal of time surveying Scripture for and meditating on God's work in regeneration. Their experiences led them to observe and acknowledge some patterns God typically used in bringing sinner to faith and repentance. This week John and Teddy begin discussing these observable patterns.
Puritans and Revival: Defining Regeneration (MP3)
As we continue our series on the influence of the Puritans on the Great Awakening (US) and the Evangelical Revival (UK), we’re focusing on the importance of regeneration. This week, we’re looking at its definition.
Puritans and Revival: God’s Work in Regeneration (MP3)
As we continue our series on the influence of the Puritans on the Great Awakening (US) and the Evangelical Revival (UK), we’re looking more closely at the doctrine of regeneration.
Are the Poor and Minorities Really Better off under Progressive Policy?
Many of the evangelicals who have drifted left in recent years seem to have done so with the belief that the left better deals with issues such as poverty and racism, and they judge conservatives to be heartless as if they do not care about these issues. I have even heard some well known preachers declare that conservatives care about abortion but liberals care about the poor. This, I believe, is to create a false binary. Theological conservatives who lean to the right do not vote the way they do because they dream of ways to be heartless, but because, among other things, they believe that leftist policies, however well intended, are the primary cause of poverty and systemic racism to begin with.
We all agree that Christians have a special obligation beyond what ordinary humanity has to take care of the poor and marginalized. We just disagree over the solution. But we ought not judge public policy merely by its good intentions.
California (where I grew up) is a good example of the good intentions fallacy. Consider these 5 facts about the Golden State:
1. California has one of the greatest disparities in education for minorities kids, among other reasons, due to its political captivity to its teachers unions. Many are unwilling to take a job in schools they see as an undesirable location. In addition, widespread school choice is necessary to deal with persistent education gaps that often leave poor, minority students in failing public schools while their wealthy peers have the money to send their children to private schools or move to a desirable school district. But the people being put in office in these cities are opposed to school choice because of political interests.
2. California spends about $98.5 billion annually on welfare — the most in the US — but has the highest poverty rate in America.
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